Early Prophecy in Israel (review)

Hebrew Studies 44 (2003) 254 Reviews separate section (entitled "in the tradition," e.g., pp. 36-40 on Genesis 2-3: pp. 155-158 on Genesis 22). These quotes may be interesting, but seem out of place and distract from Cotter's exposition rather than contribute to it. Although Cotter utilizes a variety of sources, one cannot help but notice that he frequently quotes from a handful of works that offer less detailed discussion than his own commentary (e.g., R. Alter, Genesis: Translation and Commelllary [New York: Norton, 19961; E. Fox, The Five Books of Moses [New York: Schocken, 1996]). Meanwhile, the classic historical-critical commentaries are conspicuous for their absence (e.g., H. Gunkel, Genesis [Third ed.; Gottingen: Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, 1910]; C. Westermann, Genesis [3 vols.; trans. J. J. Scullion; Minneapolis: Augsberg, 1984-1986]; G. von Rad, Genesis [rev. ed.; trans. 1. Marks; Philadelphia: Westminster, 1972]). Cotter's commentary is a significant attempt to read Genesis as a story. It will take its place alongside Bruce Waltke's Genesis: A Commelllary (Grand Rapids, Mich.: Zondervan, 2001) and Thomas Brodie's Genesis as Dialogue: A Literary, Historical, & Theological Commentary (Oxford: Oxford University, 2001) as a noteworthy one-volume literary commentary. These works appeared at about the same time, so each scholar was unable to use the commentaries of the others. Together, they indicate the growing interest in literary approaches to Hebrew narrative and the increasing skill with which exegetes employ literary methods. The volume includes a bibliography for further reading, a Scripture index, and a short subject index. An index of ancient and modem authors would have been appropriate considering the frequency and range of quotations. David Bosworth The Catholic University ofAmerica WashingtOil, DC 20064 baltboz@earthlink.net EARLY PROPHECY IN ISRAEL. By Benjamin Uffenheimer. David Louvish, trans. Pp. 591. Jerusalem: Magnes Press, 1999. Cloth, $55.00. Both historical and literary studies have flourished on the subject of classical prophecy of the eighth century B.C.E. and later. However, no major analysis on the early prophecy-starting from the time of Moses down to Elijah and Elisha-has been accomplished from a compendium other than fragmentary refonnulation of the Deuteronomistic historical works. Uffenheimer's magnum opus fills that vacancy and authentically champions Hebrew SllIdies 44 (2003) 255 Reviews the need for a thoroughgoing analysis on this subject that accounts for both historicality and canonicity of the biblical texts. In a nutshell, this work traces the origins and development of the early prophecy in Israel, by reassessing numerous discoveries and interpretations of the ancient Near Eastern texts as well as historiography and literature of the pertinent texts of the Hebrew Bible. To do so, Uffenheimer carefully reevaluates some of the major reconstructions on the historiosophy of the early prophecy, especially those presented by J. Wellhausen, G. HOlscher, Yehezkel Kaufmann, and Martin Suber, and presents his own historical and literary reconstructions . A key thesis is that early prophecy in Israel did share a significant amount of similarities with the neighboring ancient Near Eastern traditions and yet it also sprouted as many, if not more, prophetic and theological entities that are uniquely new and unparalleled in the traditions of prophecy. This volume has seven chapters, tightly correlating to each other in terms of argumentation. In chapter one, "Prophecy in the Ancient Near East and its Relation to Israelite Prophecy," the author addresses the main problem as to whether prophecy in Israel was a foreign import or not: "Were the prophets a peculiarly Israelite phenomenon, or were they rooted in the cultures of the Ancient Near East?" (p. 21). This question leads to a critical comparison of the nature of prophecy in Egypt, Phoenicia, Hamath (Syria), and Mesopotamia (especially the Mari texts). The study yields that there are slight (Phoenicia and Hamath) and more extensive (Mesopotamia) affinities, whereas certain key elements in early prophecy of Israel-such as the idea of divine mission and ethical admonition directed at the monarch- are missing in the traditions of the surrounding nations. The second chapter, "Moses," investigates afresh the "genesis and nature of monotheism" (cf. p. II). In light of reexamination of the recent archaeological and literary discoveries, Uffenheimer concludes that "the monotheistic faith of...